


even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise

by rosesareredvioletsareblue



Category: The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Jace Wayland is a Herondale, Jace Wayland is a Lightwood, Lowercase, Post-Book 3: Queen of Air and Darkness, Pregnancy, SO, Spoilers For Book 6: City of Heavenly Fire, Spoilers for Book 3: Queen of Air and Darkness, but he's also a lightwood, i miss them sm it hurts, two dads talking about dads
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2020-08-24
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:48:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25497871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosesareredvioletsareblue/pseuds/rosesareredvioletsareblue
Summary: magnus was usually fond of alec's friends.usually, because he wasn't very fond of jace herondale when he was breaking into magnus's bedroom and dragging him from sleep at two in the god-damned morning.this, magnus thinks, as he watches jace try to intimidate his cup of coffee into cooling down, had better be good.(or: jace shows up at magnus and alec's apartment with questions and some very exciting news)
Relationships: Alec Lightwood & Jace Wayland, Clary Fray/Jace Wayland, Magnus Bane & Clary Fray, Magnus Bane & Jace Wayland, Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Comments: 5
Kudos: 107





	even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise

**Author's Note:**

> i'm so excited for tlbotw!!! i honestly cannot wait for september first, i miss the tmi gang so much it hurts.
> 
> because i miss them so, i wrote this instead of sleeping. oops.
> 
> anyway, enjoy!
> 
> (title from les miserables)

* * *

sometimes, magnus gets annoyed about how he’d do anything for alec. 

for example, dropping the wards surrounding their apartment for alec’ siblings and their partners, so they could get in at anytime. magnus _really_ regrets that. 

especially since jace was hovering above his face at two in the morning, wearing his pajamas yet somehow strapped with more weapons than magnus could count. 

with an annoyed sigh, magnus rallied enough willpower to sit up and out of his husband’s arms. alec was still asleep, oblivious to his _parabatai_ a foot away. his husband’s hand was still draped across magnus’s lap. magnus hoped to confront jace for stalking them relatively quickly, so he could go back to being surrounded by alec’s steadying warmth. 

“good.” jace said, nodding to magnus. “you’re awake.” 

“you’re lucky i’m too tired to snap you out of existence.” magnus said with a glare. he hoped he sounded like he had enough power to snap jace out of existence. magic like that required at _least_ two cups of coffee. 

“you wouldn’t do that.” jace said, waving his hand in the air nonchalantly, like breaking into magnus’s bedroom at two am was a natural occurrence. “alec would be incredibly upset.” 

“he’ll get over it.” magnus snapped, ignoring the sharp pain that speared through his heart at the thought of alec broken like that. he’d seen first hand what losing a _parabatai_ looked like for the person left behind. 

jace laughed, his golden head tipping back to the sky as he did. he looked utterly comfortable and calm. it was incredibly annoying. 

“do you mind leaving?” magnus asked, his exhausted voice dripping poison. “don’t worry, i’ll be changing the wards as soon as the door shuts behind you.” 

jace blinked down at him, as if he was taking in the fact magnus was, in fact, asleep before he showed up. “you’re naked.” he noted, raising a brow.

“i’m very much aware.” magnus shot back. “we were-” 

“nope.” jace covered his hands with his ears and shook his head. “nope, nope, nope. i don’t want to know. like, at all.”

“why are you here?” magnus asked, glaring up at him. “go home. i can’t be of much help to you right now.” he emphasized this by gesturing to alec, who was also naked, and had buried his face in his pillow. magnus knew he was awake and listening, since the tips of his ears were redder than clary’s hair.

for the first time, jace looked slightly upset. magnus’s heart twinged. he knew that he was going to help him, not just for alec, but also because he liked jace. or at least he did, before jace took the liberty of breaking into his house in the middle of the god-damned night. 

“magnus.” jace looked at him, golden eyes lined with silver. “please. there’s no one else i can talk to.” 

black hair and blue eyes flashed through his mind, though not the familiar coloring of his beloved. it was the coloring of another herondale boy, long ago, standing in the rain instead of magnus’s bedroom. 

magnus shook away the memory, glancing down at alec. alec was stirring softly, his fingers clenching and unclenching, like he was reaching for something. magnus knew what he was reaching for, and for once, it wasn’t magnus’s body against his own.

magnus sighed, mentally pulling up the image of his long-lost friend one more time. “i’ll go put on some coffee.” 

“put some clothes on first.” jace quipped. magnus threw a pillow at him, but he was out the door before it reached its target.

* * *

jace held the mug in both hands, letting the steam brush past his face, but not taking a sip. they were across from each other, jace seated at the side of the island closest to the living room, while magnus, now dressed in an exquisite robe that exposed his bare chest and a pair of alec’s sweatpants, was leaning against the countertop on the side with the coffee. he took a sip out of his mug and savored the caffeine rushing into his bloodstream. 

“okay, herondale.” magnus said finally, annoyed by the brooding. “what’s wrong?” 

jace met his gaze, an odd mix of both infinite joy and intense grief burning in his eyes. 

with a smile that took up his entire face, he whispered. “clary’s going to have a baby.” 

magnus froze, taking in the news. 

_clary’s going to have a baby._

the first child he had watched grow up was going to have a child of her own. 

magnus suddenly felt incredibly old. 

then, the words hit him. 

_clary’s going to have a baby._

excitement bubbled in magnus’s chest for his friends. he felt a wide smile spread across his face, picturing clary and jace’s blond haired, green eyed menaces, wielding swords and having an incredible disregard for the law. 

“congratulations!” magnus said, feeling his smile grow wider. “that’s amazing!” 

jace was smiling softly, nodding along to magnus singing his congratulations, but not fully listening. magnus paused and took in the look on his face. 

“you’re afraid.” he noted, the giddiness in him slowing down, but not at all disappearing. 

jace took a deep breath and clenched his still-full mug harder. his knuckles were white against the handle.

“more curious than afraid.” was all jace replied. he finally took a sip of his coffee. magnus waited, hoping the silence would prod jace on. “i'm afraid of messing up, of not being a good dad. but that's natural. i've never been happier in my life." jace's face shone with elation, giving magnus some sense of relief. jace clearly couldn't wait to be a dad.

"so what's wrong?" magnus asked, raising a brow and taking another sip of his coffee.

"you’ve met my father, right?” 

magnus thought he knew where this was going. “jace, that man was not your father.” he said, his mug clinking against the counter as he put it down. he flitted his fingers in its direction, and a coaster went under his and jace’s. “you are _nothing_ like valentine morgenstern.” 

“i know, i know.” jace put his own mug down on the coaster magnus provided. he met magnus’s eyes. “he wasn’t my father. he was a monster and a horrible, _horrible_ human being, but he wasn’t my father. anyway, i’m not talking about him.” 

magnus blinked, startled. “robert?” magnus wasn’t robert lightwood’s biggest fan, but he very much liked his children. one in particular. 

jace shook his head. “no. i mean, yeah, he was my dad, in all sense of the word, but i’m not talking about him.” 

magnus paused for a spit second, almost dropping his mug as the gears clicked in his brain.

_oh._

“why do you want to know?” magnus asked, trying to stay casual. his memories of jace's father were not very pleasant. jace just shrugged. 

“my kid is _never_ not going to know their father.” jace said softly, but not weakly. “i'll love them until the end of time, and i'll be there for everything they need. they’re not going to have to suffer through what i did. what we did.” he cracked a smile. “they’re probably not going to have to walk through hell to rescue their _parabatai’s_ boyfriend.”

“they’re related to you. your child would go on field trips to edom for fun.” jace smirked, but it faltered quickly. 

“my kids will know their father.” jace’s voice was sturdy. “i’d like to know about mine.”

magnus nodded. “i knew stephen herondale.” he supplied, twisting his wedding ring thoughtfully. “not well, but i knew him a little. i can tell you what i do know, if you’d like.” 

jace’s golden eyes were wild. “please.” he breathed.

“he grew up in london.” magnus started, thinking back on what tessa had told him. she likely knew more about him than magnus did, but jace was asking magnus for a reason. “when the herondales ran the london institute.” 

he wasn’t sure jace was breathing. he was gripping the mug so hard magnus thought it would shatter, but he didn’t notice. he was only listening to magnus, hungry for knowledge.

“he liked mundane culture, although he gave that life up when he joined the circle.” jace winced. magnus bit his lip. 

“jace,” magnus said softly, “do you-“

“tell me.” jace’s voice was barely audible. “please.” magnus only nodded. 

“when he joined the circle,” magnus continued, “he grew proud. he thought he was better than downworlders, better than his parents, better than the clave.” 

he paused to take a sip of coffee. this part of the start was the hardest.

“then,” magnus said, taking a deep breath, “stephen fell in love with amatis. but still, valentine convinced him to leave her because of her connection to luke, so he did. he remarried-”

“my mother.” jace whispered, his voice filled with grief.

“céline montclaire was a tortured soul.” magnus went on, as jace nodded along. “her life was full of sadness and pain. she was desperately in love with your father, but-“

“herondales only love once.” jace scowled down at his coffee. “he manipulated her, my father. him, valentine, and the entire circle.” 

“jace-“

“did he love her?” jace’s voice broke as he looked up at magnus, tears shining in his eyes. magnus didn’t have an answer. rather, he didn’t have one that jace would want to hear. but his friend seemed to already know.

“not as you love clary.” magnus said finally. “he did love her some, but not the way he loved amatis.” 

jace was silent for a long while. “did he do anything to you?” his voice was hollow, yet colder than ice. “stephen, when he was part of the circle.” phantom pain shot through magnus, once in his back and once in his heart. wincing softly, he put the mug down on the coaster and pressed a heavy hand against his chest. 

“he tried to kill me once,” magnus answered, as jace looked panicked, glancing between magnus's face and the hand he was pressing to his chest. after a minute, the pain went away. "relax." he said, waving jace's worried face off. "the day i met your father is coincidentally the day i got stabbed by valentine." jace gawked at him. 

"you got stabbed by valentine?" jace asked, his jaw hanging open. 

"unfortunately. stephen only _tried_ to kill me. he didn't actually get a blow in. i was so angry, seeing so much hatred and disgust on a face that one of my friends wore, long ago. i wanted to kill him.” 

“why didn’t you?” jace asked. he seemed genuinely curious and incredibly calm, considering magnus was talking about wanting to murder his father. he hoped jace’s child wouldn’t be as casual when talking about murder. 

magnus swallowed. “i didn’t know how to face tessa again if i killed one of her descendants.” he said. “when she looks at you, she sees her love and her son. when she looks at the blackthorns, she sees her daughter. i could not take that away from her.” 

jace nodded, understanding. “i’m sorry.” he said simply. “i’m sorry you have to look at me and see him.” 

“no.” magnus said sharply. “you didn’t let me finish the story. stephen changed. not entirely, although he was on the path to that. he started to doubt valentine. valentine had him killed.”

jace took a sip of coffee, unconvinced. 

“i do not look at you and see him.“ magnus went on, “i look at you and see a good man, an honorable friend and brother. i look at you and see _good,_ jace herondale. you tend to do things that give my husband a heart attack, but always with the best intentions. you give pride to the honorable herondale name. do not forget that.” 

jace smiled. “thanks magnus.” 

magnus, to his surprise, smiled back. “you’re welcome.” he said sincerely, finishing up the dregs of his coffee. “now get out of my apartment. alec is cold in bed without me.” 

“we both know that alec woke up as soon as you did.” jace retorted. “he’s a light sleeper. it’s the shadowhunter way.” 

magnus didn’t like to admit that jace was right. he could picture alec now, reading in bed with a lamp turned on, waiting for magnus to come back to him. 

jace smirked, knowing he won. magnus glared, annoyed. “don’t you have a pregnant wife to get back to?” 

magnus watched as jace’s face lit up, brighter than the sun. 

“yeah.” he said, every inch of his face radiating joy. “i do. simon wants us to name our kid after _him._ can you believe it?” 

magnus snorted, amused by jace’s antics. “simon herondale does have a nice ring to it.” jace glared at him. 

“i can not believe you said that.” jace said, crossing his arms over his chest. “my _parabatai_ deserves better than to be married to someone who thinks my child should be named _simon_ _herondale_.” 

“unfortunately,” magnus rolled his eyes, smiling softly down at the ring on his left hand, “he’s stuck with me. he changed the law to do it. also, i can’t comprehend why you’re still in my house.” 

“can i say hi to the kids?” jace asked. magnus sighed and flicked his hand in his direction. blue sparks forced jace to turn around. 

“goodbye, jason.” magnus waved cheerfully, following jace as he walked towards the door, protesting loudly the entire way. “if you wake up my kids i'll teleport you to a deserted island.” 

jace stopped when he got to the door. he turned around, sincerity shining on his face. “thanks magnus.” he said. “for everything.” 

“you’re going to be an amazing dad, jace.” magnus replied, walking over to the door. “i can already tell.” 

jace hesitated for a split second before wrapping his arms around magnus tightly. tentatively, magnus hugged him back, incredibly confused. 

eventually, jace let go. he stood in the doorway for a second, glancing at the direction of max and rafe’s rooms. magnus sighed, defeated. “come over for breakfast tomorrow.” he said. “and bring biscuit. i have some name suggestions for her.” 

jace’s already gleaming face brightened impossibly further. magnus thought he could light all of new york city with just jace’s happiness alone. 

“see you tomorrow.” jace said quickly, shuffling out the door. it shut quietly behind him. magnus closed his eyes and tried not to picture the destruction his future niece or nephew would cause. 

“was he okay?” a voice came from behind him. magnus smiled as the familiarity of it enveloped him, more comforting than the thickest blanket the world could offer. 

“he’s jace.” magnus replied, turning to alec.”he’s as okay as he’ll ever be.” alec was standing behind him, dressed in flannel pajama pants that clashed spectacularly with his oversized sweater, a putrid green color that magnus was _sure_ was the exact color of the bottom of the gowanus river. his blue eyes were light with relief. “clary’s-” 

“pregnant. i know.” alec said, reaching out a hand. magnus took it and squeezed it gently before dropping it. he wrapped his arms around alec’s middle, bending his head down to nest in the crook of his neck. he felt alec’s arms around his waist in response and sighed. 

“how’d you know?” magnus asked, breathing in alec’s scent. 

“isabelle called me screaming about how simon wouldn’t stop throwing up, something i _really_ didn’t want to hear. also, he would only eat something if she cooked it, which was the big trigger.” 

magnus laughed. “if our future niece or nephew has a taste for izzy’s food, i don’t know what we’ll do.” alec hummed his agreement. 

“are you okay?” he could hear the concern in alec’s voice, clear as day. “jace told me he was going to talk to you, but i didn’t think it would be at this hour of the day.” 

“how could i not be okay?” magnus asked, lifting his head up to meet alec’s blue eyes. “i’m with you.” 

alec raised a brow, not buying magnus’s nonchalance. magnus sighed. “he asked about his father.” 

“stephen?” alec sounded confused. “what did he want to know?” 

“just about him. general stuff, the circle, ecetera.” magnus waved it off simply. he understood where jace was coming from. he too wanted to know his father once, although his curiosity had a drastically different outcome.

“are you sure you’re okay?” alec bit his lip. magnus nodded, moving one hand up against alec’s chest to feel his heartbeat. the steady thumping under his fingers comforted him as he felt his entire body relax. memories about the circle were never good ones, but alec’s presence made him feel ten times better.

"i'm sure." magnus replied, smiling softly. 

alec smiled, tipping his face up to press a kiss to magnus’s forehead. then, he lowered it, only slightly, to meet magnus’s lips. 

the kiss was soft and sweet, full of promises and future wishes and hope. 

alec’s kisses, magnus decided, as alec moved his hands to cup magnus's face with exceeding gentleness, were better than any medicine. 

they broke apart, panting slightly, but didn’t pull out of each other’s arms. 

as alec ran a knuckle down magnus’s jaw, magnus said, “biscuit and blondie are coming for breakfast tomorrow. or, today, i guess, since your golden retriever of a _parabatai_ has no regard for people’s sleep schedules.” 

alec huffed a laugh, moving his finger down magnus’s neck, stopping where the robe slipped slightly off his shoulder. with incredible tenderness, alec traced the words ‘i love you’ in every language he knew, over and over, on magnus’s bare skin. magnus could have melted from the softness of the touch. 

“well, i hope they like double chocolate m-&-m blueberry pancakes,” alec smiled, still writing on magnus’s skin, “cause it’s max’s weekend to pick what we have for saturday breakfast.” 

magnus groaned dramatically, resting his head on alec’s chest. “i can already feel the sugar coma kicking in, alexander. leave me to rot here with my cavities.” 

“don’t worry,” alec laughed, clear and bright. he moved his hand from magnus’s shoulder back to his waist. “max specifically requested to make sure we ‘have boring ones for papa.’ that’s a direct quote.” 

magnus rolled his eyes. “it’s hard to be mad at him about his choice of words when he’s trying to be considerate.” 

“okay, mr boring.” alec smirked, a teasing glint in his eyes. magnus loved when alec teased, since it meant he was comfortable enough with whoever he was teasing. past alec would never have teased him like this, would never have been open and accepting. back then, he was afraid the smallest thing would drive magnus away. he didn't realize that magnus was head over heels for him, and was never going to go away. this side of his love had been coming out more and more since he was elected consul. magnus was pleased.

“boring?” magnus scoffed, feigning offense. “i’m the furthest thing. have you seen this outfit? it’s an antique from the twelfth century. the _twelfth century,_ alexander.” 

“you weren’t alive in the twelfth century.” alec pointed out, amusement illuminating the blue in his eyes. 

magnus thought he was falling in love with alec all over again, simply for knowing when he was born. there weren’t many people who knew magnus’s true age. alec was special, though magnus had known that a long time. 

pretending to be annoyed, magnus said “no one likes a smart-alec, alec.” 

alec chuckled softly. “you must, because you married me.”

happiness blossomed in his chest. “yeah. i did.” he whispered lovingly, banishing all thoughts of the past.

because the future was before him, sleeping in beds painstakingly made only hours before, requesting pancakes with more sugar in them than a person should have in a lifetime. the future was insults muttered half heartedly in spanish followed by loving smiles, and long, tight hugs. 

the future was in his arms, black hair and blue eyes shining with happiness and leading the new world.

the future was being carried in the womb of a little girl who had saved the world.

alec grinned, joyous and free. magnus felt himself grinning back as eternity opened up before him, glorious and shining.

“tomorrow, i have to tell you want izzy wants the name to be.” alec said, laughter tracing his voice. magnus smiled wistfully. there was no music in the entire history of the world that could even come close to the beauty of alec's laugh. smiling, he took magnus by the hand and led him back to their bedroom. 

as they reached the door of their bedroom, magnus suddenly pulled alec to a stop. he didn't know what he was doing. all he knew was that if he didn't kiss alec right now, his heart would explode.

"i love you, my alec." magnus whispered to him, reaching up to cup his face gently with his free hand. "i love you, more than you'll ever know."

alec's eyes shone, deep wells of that breathtaking blue. "i love you too. i love you more than anything in the world." his voice was quiet. then, he sighed sharply and shook his head. "i'm not eloquent. just kiss me."

"i thought that was perfectly eloquent." magnus smirked. his eyes darted to the perfect, yet ironic, bow shape of alec's mouth. "you're a poet, alexander."

"thank you for the complement. can you just kiss me now please."

magnus tilted his head to the side. "what's a kiss?" he raised a brow, smirking at his husband's exasperated expression.

"oh my god.' alec rolled his eyes, and took magnus's face in both hands. magnus gasped as alec captured magnus's lips with his own, wild and passionate and claiming, but underlining with an inherent sweetness and a sense of alec-ness. magnus wrapped his fists in alec's ugly sweater and pulled him closer, deepening the kiss. his hands found their way through alec’s hair, tangling themselves in the already sleep-distressed locks. alec bit down on magnus’s lip, something magnus loved, as he slid his hands under magnus's robe and ran them over magnus's bare shoulders

it was almost funny, how good alec was at kissing, since magnus was the first and only person he would ever kiss. magnus had kissed a lot of people, but none of them compared to alec. maybe it was just the feeling of kissing your soulmate.

they broke apart with a sudden gasp, magnus's lungs berrating him for kissing alec instead of breathing as they burned, begging for air. alec blushed, panting slightly, and leaned on the door frame. alec's blue eyes were burning with pure joy, brighter than any witchlight the world could offer. in that moment, his love for alec threatened to drown him, to take him under the beloved pools of blue in alec's eyes and never let him back up.

"bedtime, my love." alec murmured, pressing his lips against magnus's temple. "it's time for tomorrow."

magnus laughed, as he took alec’s hand and opened the door to their bedroom. smiling brightly, he whispered to his husband, “ _you’re_ my tomorrow, alexander lightwood.”

alec lifted magnus’s hand to his mouth and pressed a kiss to his knuckles with a soft smile. “and you’re mine, magnus bane.”

tomorrow. screeching kids, pancakes of pure sugar, an addition to their family. those things they would save for tomorrow. 

but for now, magnus would sleep in his husband’s arms, safe from the ghosts of his past.

magnus led alec into their bedroom and closed the door.

* * *


End file.
